Lower your salt and sodium intake with spices and herbs

Salt or sodium can easily be replaced with many different spices and herbs.

Are you looking for ways to spice
up your foods? There are many alternatives to salt that can be used to make
your meals more flavorful. Too much sodium in your diet can lead to high blood
pressure. This condition is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases
which are the leading cause of death worldwide. The average person only needs
200 mg of sodium in their diet for the proper functioning of their body. The American Heart Association recently reduced
the recommended daily allowance of sodium from 2,300 mg to 1,500 mg.

It does not take much salt to get our daily allowance of
sodium. A quarter teaspoon of salt contains 600 mg while a half teaspoon of
salt contains 1200mg of sodium. Most of our daily sodium intake comes from
prepackaged foods. Sodium related terms are important to understand as you
navigate your way through the supermarket. Sodium free products contain less
than five mg of sodium per serving. Very low sodium products have 35 mg or less
per serving. Low sodium products have 140 mg or less per serving. If a package
states that it is light in sodium it must be reduced in sodium by at least 50
percent per serving. Food labels cannot claim a product is healthy if it
exceeds 480 mg of sodium per reference amount, according to the US Food and Drug Administration and the US Department of
Agriculture.

So what can you do to reduce your
sodium and spice up your meals? Add herbs and spices. Many of us don’t add spices
because we are not familiar with all of the options and how to use them. Herbs
are leaves of low growing shrubs. Examples of herbs include parsley, chives,
marjoram, thyme, basil, caraway, dill, oregano, rosemary, savory, sage, and
celery leaves. All of these can be used fresh or dried. Spices come from the
bark, root, buds, seeds, berries or the fruits of tropical plants and trees.
Cinnamon is from the bark of a tree and ginger, onion and garlic are examples
of roots. Cloves and saffron are buds. Yellow mustard, poppy, and sesame are
seeds. Black pepper is a berry and allspice and paprika are from fruits.

Some cultures have a preference in
which spices they use. Many Italian dishes include oregano while many French
dishes include marjoram. Mexican cuisine uses cilantro quite a bit and Chinese
cooking included ginger. You can take cooking cues from the cuisine of
different cultures, but don’t be afraid to be adventurous with herbs and
spices. Try adding curry powder, garlic, rosemary, sage, thyme, dill or poultry
seasoning when cooking meat, poultry, and fish. Experiment with cinnamon,
cloves, dill, ginger, marjoram, nutmeg, rosemary, and sage when cooking
vegetables.

Herbs and ground spices can
generally be kept for one year. Whole spices will keep for two years. If a
spice or herb smells strong and flavorful, it is probably still potent. The
next time you go to add salt to food you are preparing, think about what herbs
and spices you have on hand that could replace the salt and give it a try. You
may find that spicing up your foods is more flavorful while being a healthy
alternative to salt.